Dennis Haarsager's rolling environmental scan for electronic media. "Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us." --Jerry Garcia "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." --Bob Seger

Twitter @haarsager

Sunday, 29 July 2007

The 700 MHz Controversy - Fighting Over the Reclaimed TV Spectrum

About FCC rules relating to the upcoming auction of some spectrum currently occupied by UHF television broadcasters, David Oxenford writes:

... Users of the Internet, led by Google, have argued for an open system,
where a subscriber pays for access to the wireless spectrum, and can
essentially connect any device or receive any service, just as long as
it does not damage the network. This is much like the current wired
telephone network, where a consumer can connect a telephone or a fax
machine or a laptop computer and get access to the network. Proponents
of this model contend that it will encourage technological development
as companies compete to develop different applications that can run on
the network,and provide a "third pipe" into the home providing high
speed Internet access to compete with that provided by cable and
telephone companies. Some might assume that content providers like
broadcasters would favor that open approach so that their content can
be easily delivered to the consumer, without the broadcaster having to
cut any sort of deal with the network provider to get access. ...

... The four conditions outlined by Google in its letter
announcing its intent to bid would go a long way towards ensuring that
the freed-up spectrum fulfills its potential as a "third broadband
pipe." Under a truly open network, consumers would be able to use any
application on any device that they want. Also, winning bidders would
be forced to license their spectrum at wholesale prices, which would
keep one or two companies from gobbling up all the spectrum and
limiting competitor (or even customer access to it). Lastly, ISPs would
be able to interconnect freely to the 700MHz network at any technically
feasible point. ...

... The commission’s chairman, Kevin Martin, proposed his version of
so-called “open access” rules that would apply to about third of the
spectrum being auctioned. These would allow consumers to connect to the
wireless network with any device running any application. The two
Democratic commissioners said they supported the idea, and the two
Republican commissioners said they were undecided. ¶ But a key point Martin, a Republican, would not support, and that
Google insists on, is a rule forcing whoever wins the spectrum at the
auction to wholesale parts of it to other companies who want to resell
it. ...